Machine for dehydrating pomace



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SePL l2, 1933 F. c. sToLl. 'Er AL 1,926,215 l MACHINE FOR DEHYDRATING POMACE I Filed April 15, 1931 4 sheds-sheet s II I NL J N z kq D un Il H I o 'H IN [s] R Sept. l2, 1933. F. c. s'roLL |.r AL

MACHINE FOR DEHYDRATING POMACE Filed April l5 4 Sheets-Sheet, 4 y

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Char/e5 h/E/yes INVENTOR ATTORNEY i Patented sept. 12, 1933 PATENT OFFICE MACHINE .FDR DEHYDRATING POMACE Fred c. stou, vancouver, wash., and charles W. Jones, Portland, Oreg.

Application April 15, 1931. Serial No. 530,412

2 Claims.

Our invention is primarily intended for use in the processing and manufacture of a commercial product developed in vinegar factories.

The invention consists primarily of a method and device forI the treating of the waste products of cider and vinegar factories in which the pulp v product is taken from the juice extractors and from which the juice has been extracted. The resultant pulp is then conveyed by any suitable 0 conveying mechanism to a drying chamber,where the resultant conveyed pulp is dehydrated and violently agitated during the dehydration.

The pulp to be dehydrated is conveyed, step by step, through the drying chamber-across supporting trays comprised of a corrugated surface having a series of inclined surfaces having substantially vertical walls disposed at either end of the inclined surface over which the material to be treated is conveyed. The mass graduating from one tray to a series of trays to a lower level, one tray at a time.y After the dehydration has been effected the mass is then cooled and packaged for shipment.

The heat for drying consisting the passing of the air over heated pipes and the forcing of the heated air through the tunnels in which the trays are being oseillated.

The invention consists of one, or more tunnels in which a plurality of trays having corrugated surfaces, similar to wash boards are disposed longitudinally of the tunnels and spaced apart, each of the trays being supported by hinged supports and adapted for being violently moved in alternate directions longitudinally of the trays through the use of eccentrics having eccentric straps disposed thereon and having links extending betweenl the eccentrics and the trays to which one end of the eccentric rod is attached. The pomace being placed upon the trays andbeing then stepped downward from lone tray to the" next isfinally delivered to the sacking andpacking machines. l One of the objects of our invention consists in the continuous delivery of green pomace from the cake Ypile of green pomace by conveying through a dehydrating tunnel, the cooling of the same and the delivery of the 'dehydrated product continuously to packaging and sacking machines.'

A further object of our invention consists in the taking of green pomace continuously from a source of supply and the dehydrating and cooling of the same and the final delivery of the dehydrated cooled product, to suitable packaging equipment. 6

A still further object of our device'consists in providing a machine comprised of but few parts, that may be efficiently used in the continuous treatment of a product to be dehydrated, consisting in the placing of the same upon trays having an oscillating movement imparted thereto, that are disposed in tunnels through which heated air passes, and the extracting of the moisture of the article being treated and the carrying of the liberated moisture from the tunnel through the heated air current being passed therethrough. y

A still further object of our invention consists in the continuous dehydrating of commercial products by the passing of the same continuously through drying tunnels at different levels and the gravitating of the product being treated,.to trays -disposed therebelow and in spaced relationship with each other. A violent longitudinal oscillating movement is imparted to the trays over which the pomace passes during its travel through the drying tunnels.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims, and a preferred form of embodiment of which is hereinafter shown with reference to the drawings which accompany-and form a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatical layout of the steps through which the material passes in its complete treatment from the source of supply to the final delivery station.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional, side view of 95 the drying tunnels andthe coils in the drying tunnel and the heat chamber adapted for heating the air for dehydrating purposes. The same being taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 4, looking in the 10o direction indicated. i

Fig. 3 isa diagrammatical, sectional, plan view illustrating trays placed within the heat tunnels and illustrating means for distributing the air uniformly over vthe surface of the trays upon 105 which the dehydration occurs.

Fig. 4 is a sectional, end View taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, looking in the directionindicated.

Fig. 5 is a sectional, end view taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, sectional, end view taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, sectional, plan view taken on line 7 7 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated.

Fig.v 8 is a fragmentary, sectional, side view, taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction indicated, this view is made primarily to illustrate the form 'of construction of the tray surface, the supporting links for supporting the trays and the feeding and discharge outlets leading to and away from the trays.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, top, plan view of the tray mechanism, the same being taken on line 9 9 of Fig. 8, looking in the direction indicated.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary, sectional, end view of the distribution, feeding hopper for delivering the green pomace upon the top tray to distribute the same over the surface of the trays. The same being taken on line l0-l0 of Fig. 9, looking in the direction indicated. v

Fig. l1 is a fragmentary, sectional, side view of the shafts upon which the eccentrics are mounted, and illustrating the prime mover and the driving element for driving each of the shafts with a common driving element.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

.The commodity from which the juice is to be' extracted is delivered to the grinding and shredding machine 1 and is transferred therefrom t`o the press 2. The resultant pomace is then delivered into a hopper 3 from where the same is transferred by the conveyor 4 directlyinto the dehydrating tunnels disposed within the housing 5. The dehydrated pomace is delivered from the discharge end of the trays, over which the same passes, into a chute 6 that delivers the pomace into a cooling bin 7. Air is circulated .through the cooling bin 7 by any suitable means, as through the use of a power driven blower 8. After the pomace has been cooled within the cooling chamber 7, the same is delivered by a conveyor 9 into a hopper 10. The material to be packaged is taken from the base 11 of-the ,hopper 10 and placed into any suitable package or bag 12 for packaging.

For a more detailed description of the dehydration, reference is had to Figs. from 2 to- 10 inclusive.

Referring to Fig. 2, a tunnel 13 is provided, having insulated walls 14 to conserve heat. A plurality of spaced posts 15 are disposed at either side of each of the tunnels.

A plurality of trays 16 are disposed longitudinally of the tunnel'and are spaced apart and supported upon hinged supporting links '17. One end of the link 18 being hingedly secured to the post and the oppositely disposed end 19 of the link being hingedly secured to the side wall of the tray. Each of the trays have side walls 20 and 21 that upwardly extend to form the oppositely disposed sides of the trays. The bottom of the tray is corrugated as illustrated in Fig. 8. The corrugations are made having sloping sections 22 and having vertical sections 23 disposed at the edges of the sloping sections 22, to give a corrugated wash board effect.

Eccentrics 24 are provided and placed upon shafts 25. A link 26 connects the eccentric 24 with a pin 27. 'Ihe pin 27 is placed within ears 28 and 29, as illustrated in Fig. 10and as the eccentric is rotated the strap 30 disposed about the eccentric imparts an o cillating motion to the links vand the trays.

ment so that the driving element may be mainl tained satisfactorily in a taut condition.

The green pomace is delivered from the discharge end 36 of the conveyor that conveys the green pomace from the cake pile disposed adjacent the presses and delivers the same into a boot 37. The boot 37 delivers the material into a spreader head 38, illustrated in Fig. 10. Guide plates 39 and 40 are disposed within the spreader head, the guide plates 39 and 40 divide the spreader head into a plurality of passageways 41, 42 and 43. A V shaped guide 44 is disposed within the channelway 43, to subdivide the channelway 43 into guideways 45 and 46. The material then flows through the respective guideways and is deposited upon a spreader table 47.

A spreader table 47 is shown in plan view in Fig. 9. The material from the spreader head is deposited directly upon the upper end 47a of the spreader table and is distributed through the guideways 48 directly upon the supporting trays. The spreader table is inclined downwardly from the feeding end and is directly secured to the upper tray 49, as illustrated in Fig. 8, and the oscillating motion imparted to the tray and to the spreader table, feeds the material. directly upon the uppermost one of the trays. The inclined surfaces of the tray, on adjacent trays, are inclined in opposite directions, in order that the material will feed in one direction upon the top tray and will feed in the opposite direction on the next tray disposed therebelow. The trays are staggered at their ends, in their arrangement, so that the material will feed and be deposited from the top tray to the one disposed therebelow with the end of the lower tray extending beyond the delivery end of the tray disposed thereabove, to receive the material being progressed upon the tray disposed therebelow. This arrangement provides for an automatic feeding ofthe material to the next succeeding lower trays.

A boiler 50 is provided' within the heat chamber 51 with coils of steam pipes 52 disposed within the heating chamber 51. Normal air passes through the blower 53 from Without the machine through an inlet pipe, not shown, attached to the center of the blower 53 and is circulated over and around the steam pipes and theboiler and is delivered into the entrance end of the dehydrating tunnel. A stack 54 exhausts the moisture laden air to the atmosphere. A damper 55 is disposed between the stack and the dehydrating tunnel and is adapted for being set` and maintained at any desired angle, through the use of quadrants 56. The boiler may be red through the use of any suitable heat supplying medlum, as through'the use of an oil burner-57.

A grille 58 is disposed between the dehydrating tunnel and the heat chamber, in order that the air may be wholly, or partially, recirculated in the early stages of the drying,

A plate 59 is placeable over the grille, to thereby' predetermine the amount of opening that may be'provided within the grillage 58.

.distribute the air currents uniformly through,

and over, the pomace to be dehydrated. The ns are disposed in the spaces between the walls of the dehydrating tunnel and the trays and in the spacesdisposed between the respective tray racks, in order that workmen may pass therethrough as required. The fins may also be set to force heated air over any dead spots that may develop in the tunnel.

Referring to Fig. 4, the dehydration may be carried on in a single passage through thetunnel, or a plurality of independent tunnels may be provided through which the 'material to be dehydrated is progressed. yWhen dehydration is completed in a single pass, through the dehydrating tunnel, the material is disposed into a delivery chute k,61, through which an eliminator, as a screwJ62, is placed and delivers the material from the dehydrating tunnel into the deliveryl chute 63. Where the dehydration is not completed in .a single tunnel an elevator 64 is'disposed between the tunnels and the eliminators and the material is delivered into the dehydrat` ing tunnel 65 by being delivered from the elevator 64 into the 'chute 66 and from there disposed into the distributor head 67 and upon the second series of trays where the dehydration is nally completed.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that' it is not intended to confine the invention to the o ne form of embodiment herein shown and described, as it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What we claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a conveyor, a spreader head disposed at the discharge end of the conveyor, said spreader head comprised of a plurality of diverging passageways; a shaker table disposed below the spreader h ead and adapted for -receiving mate--v rials thereupon from the spreader head; a heated tunnel, vertically disposed posts disposed at the oppositely disposed sides of the tunnel, a plurality of spaced trays disposed horizontally Within the tunnel and extending longitudinally thereof, hinged supporting links disposed between the posts and the trays, the trays having upturned side walls and having corrugated bottom drying surfaces, said corrugated surfaces being comprised of a plurality of inclined surfaces and a vertical wall at the oppositely disposed edges of each of the inclined surfaces; a plurality of shafts disposedy horizontally within the` tunnel and spaced apart from the trays, driving elements disposed upon each of the shafts, a common prime mover having a driving element disposed Vtherearound adapted for' driving each of the shafts simultaneously and an eccentric disposed upon each shaft with an eccentric rod disposed between the eccentric and a pin secured to the 2. In a device of the class described, the com- A bination of a heated tunnel, a plurality of horizontally disposed trays having corrugated surfaces reciprocably disposed within vthe tunnels,

means for reciprocating the trays and for automatically feeding materials longitudinally thereof as the trays are reciprocated, means for feeding materials spread uniformly upon the upper ones of the trays, meansfor automatically feeding material from an upper tray to the one disposed therebelow, means for heating the circulating air through the tunnel and for predetermining the amount of recirculated air that may be .recirculated through the heated tunnel; a,I cooling chamber, and means for delivering materials from the heated to the cooling chamber. f

FRED C. STOLL. CHAS. W.l JONES. 

